Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son [UK Reissue 2010] (1988)

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was the last Iron Maiden album to feature guitarist Adrian Smith until the album Brave New World in 2000 (he did write a song that Bruce Dickinson finished for the next album, No Prayer for the Dying, titled "Hooks in You", a loose tie-in to the Charlotte the Harlot saga).

"The Clairvoyant" was the first song written for the album. According to Steve Harris, the song's lyrics were inspired by the death of psychic Doris Stokes, saying "if she were really clairvoyant, if she were really able to see the future, wouldn't she have been able to for see her own death?"

At least five of the album's songs ("Moonchild", "Infinite Dreams", "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", "The Prophecy" and "The Clairvoyant") can be directly related to a main lyrical storyline inspired by the folklore concept.

Lyrically, the album centers around some main philosophical ideas: good vs. evil, mysticism, prophetic vision, reincarnation and afterlife. Almost all the album includes direct or indirect references to questions regarding to these concepts and poetically refers the answers.

Stylistically, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son develops the sounds first heard on Somewhere in Time (1986), and continues the band's lyrical exploration of topics related to mysticism, power, and the occult.

The album debuted at #1 in UK charts (their only since The Number of the Beast) as well as #12 in the U.S, while the singles "Can I Play with Madness", "The Evil That Men Do", "The Clairvoyant (live)" and "Infinite Dreams (live)" reached #3, #5, #6 and #6 positions, respectively. of nearly all of the band's concert tours subsequently following the 7th Tour of a 7th Tour.